Berkley Center

Ingrid Lamminpää is a designer and lecturer at the Florence Institute of Art. After falling in love with Lorenza Soldani and marrying her in Sweden in summer 2013, the couple was drawn back to Florence, Italy, where Ingrid was raised. Florence, a historical meeting place of the open-minded since the Renaissance, stands as a paradigm of cultural and religious diversity among other larger, more populated Italian metropolises. Still, Ingrid finds it difficult to be open about her homosexuality in the city she calls home: “After our marriage, we made a resolution to be crystal clear and never omit the fact we are married. The very first day in school when I introduce myself to my students, it's not always easy when you have no wish for ogling eyes.”

When the Italian constitution was written in 1948, homosexuality was a culturally hidden phenomenon and, although Italian society has modernized, the law has not been altered to fit the changing dynamics of the modern Italian family.

While Italian law does not recognize same-sex marriages, a chain of individual municipalities began officially registering same-sex unions performed in other jurisdictions in spring 2014. The register does not make a marriage legitimate under Italian law but provides a sense of validation to the growing number of same-sex Florentine couples tying the knot elsewhere. As of October 2014, the trend toward registering same-sex marriages has spread from Bologna and Grosseto to other Tuscan cities, and it is likely that Florence will eventually follow suit. However, tensions rose in the Palazzo Vecchio this week, when a motion to register same-sex marriages celebrated abroad was presented to the town council. While two subcommittees approved the motion, the Democratic Party remains divided as the city awaits a final vote.

Although its decision on the proposed registration is certain to draw attention to the issue, Florence’s city council lacks the power to enact the comprehensive changes required to legalize same-sex marriage across Italy. This authority lies with parliament, where amendments to overturn the ban on same-sex marriage submitted in March and April 2014 are still pending. The failure to act on these amendments reaffirms the widespread belief that conservative influences are still powerful in Italian national politics, given that a majority of the members of the European Union already recognize same-sex unions.

Carla Fronteddu, a gender specialist concluding her Ph.D. studies in Political Philosophy at the University of Salerno, sees the Vatican as less and less of a constant presence in the daily lives of Italians. Even in the traditionally conservative region of Siena, a radio show called “Beyond the Differences” encourages open dialogue around LGBTQ issues despite a tradition of conservatism in the city. Still, while cities in and around Tuscany are moving ahead of the country as a whole on all gender issues thanks to a vocal LGBTQ community, the Catholic Church continues to exercise considerable power over parliament and constitutional amendments legalizing same-sex marriage could take years.

However long it might take, Ingrid remains confident that political change will sooner or later follow the social movements emerging throughout Italy. The blog documenting Ingrid and Lorenza’s marriage began as a way to draw attention to the status of same-sex marriage in Florence and, thanks to the support of over 6,000 followers, turned into a documentary that won the Jury and the Audience Awards at Bologna’s Biografilm Documentary Film Festival in June 2014. Shortly thereafter, the national newspaper La Repubblica asked Ingrid to begin a second blog for its online edition, focusing not only on her own experience but also on the evolution of the “modern family” in contemporary society.

With the film set to premier in theaters this fall, cafés everywhere are abuzz with the story of two extraordinary women fighting for the right to live an ordinary life together. Rather than dwell on the fact that her personal life has become much more public, Ingrid keeps focused on her project’s greater purpose: “Showing the daily life of a married couple that goes to work, has a social life, deals with moving out to a bigger apartment is likely the most powerful cure to ignorance and homophobia.” Across the country, activists are harnessing the power of the media to gather public support for a more open constitutional definition of marriage. As they continue to attract positive attention from outside activist communities, personal narratives like Ingrid and Lorenza’s are transforming old concepts of the Italian family and paving the way for nationwide political action.